Migrating
by laughoutlouddd
Summary: A dreadful past has pushed Mikan, her brother and her mom into migrating to her cousin, Hotaru's, place. A new life in a new country, can Mikan cope with everything that's thrown at her? What's with her step cousin Natsume, anyway?


**Migrating - A Gakuen Alice fanfic**

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_Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice/Alice Academy.  
I just love Natsume's eyes._

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Hey there. My name is Mikan Sakura but you can call me Mikan. I'm 15 years old. As you can see from my name, I'm Japanese. But I don't live in Japan. Well, not anymore. I still remember the times I lived there, though I can't say I enjoyed it much. My father, Jinno Sakura, was a drunkard and every night, without fail, he'd collapse by the door and soon fall asleep. It was the same daily routine me, my mom and my brother would always go through and put up with. My mom, Yuka Sakura, was burdened with juggling two jobs which left me to take care of my younger brother, Youichi Sakura. My mother had a reason for having two jobs and both me and my brother understood and wanted what she had in store for us. To runaway. Away from my old man's reckless ways. I didn't know where my mother had planned for us to go but I didn't care. That man that falls unconscious at our doorstep every night didn't deserve to be called our father. He doesn't even deserve to be called a human. He's a monster. A murderer. That man killed our grandfather, two years ago.

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I stomped on the doormat, leaving thick muddy foot prints on it. Youichi did the same, his head stuck under my arm and calling Grandpa for help.

"Grandpa! The old hag's picking on me again!" He cried struggling against my tight grip. I tightened it more and hauled him inside the house.

Hitting his head, I glared at him, face-to-face-, while still in my locked arms. "You little brat. Don't try and turn things around on me. You're the one who flipped up my skirt in front of the entire bus crowd. That was the most embarrassing moment of my life!" I fumed at him.

Hazel met emerald. It was hard to tell whether my brown eyes burned into green ones or the other way around. He's scary for a 5 year-old silver-haired little devil. Don't get me wrong, I love my brother and he loves me too. I think. Well, he does show it in unusual ways sometimes but nonetheless, we get along great. Most of the time. This definitely wasn't one of those times.

"Okay, okay. That's it, break it up you two." Grandpa chuckled as he tried to pry our faces apart. We stood back-to-back, perfectly mirroring each other's crossed arms, pouted lips and knotted eyebrows. Grandpa and mom calls it our I-didn't-do-it-(s)he-did-so-don't-listen-to-anything-(s)he-says-against-me faces. Stubborn faces, for short. "Yo-chan, why did you do that to Mikan-chan?" Grandpa's soothing voice asked the little delinquent.

"I was bored." He pouted more, fake innocence dripping at his every word. I turned around, ready to pounce on him again when I heard him mumble something more. "And she didn't play with me on the bus. Too busy talking to that cootie-infected nerd." This time, his voice was evident of jealousy. He slumped his shoulders more. Definitely jealousy.

I giggled at his childishness. I couldn't help it. The twerp can be cute at times too. With those piercing hazel eyes and stunning silver hair, I would have a hard time fighting off future fangirls off of him. I picked him up from behind and kissed his left cheek. "You're adorable when you're jealous, you know that? You could have just tugged at my sleeves and said so, you doof. And Momo-chan is neither cootie-infected or a nerd just because she has a crush on you." I giggled again and we plopped ourselves down on a bean bag, him sitting on my lap.

He reached for the remote on the floor and flicked on the television. "All girls my age are cootie-infected." He said simply as he made himself more comfortable on my lap. I smiled at my grandfather who was beaming at us with amusement and joy. He was the greatest. He took care of us while mom was out on her job and dad out throwing away his life and mom's hard-earned money. He'd wait with us for mom to come home, in the living room every night. Just how every night, the three of us would drag my old man behind the couch. Seemed that was the only place he can call his bed now, considering that we couldn't possibly carry him up the stairs. Despite his old age, Grandpa is ridiculously strong. Except for a bit of back problems and the typical old-man-face, he's as strong as an 18year-old. But what makes me idolize him more is that, he never fails to defend me and Youchi away from our father.

I looked at the wall clock by the window. Ten minutes past six. My sorry-excuse-for-a-father would be collapsing out front at around quarter to seven, back from the bar or wherever he went. We never had interest in finding out. Mom would be here at five minutes to seven. Me and Grandpa had plenty of time to prepare dinner and help Youchi with his homework. I already have the habit of finishing mine at school. My reason for always coming home later than expected. For Youchi, he just hangs around with other kids while waiting for me to finish my work. Hey, it was his choice. He could have been home at exactly four if he didn't wait for me. He's sweet, that little bugger.

I lifted Youchi off my lap and placed him on my seat as I left to help Grandpa in the kitchen. Sparkly white tiles greeted my eyes as I called out for Grandpa. Clean, exactly how Grandpa likes everything. "What's for dinner, chef?" I asked him using my nickname for him.

"Stir fried chicken, fried rice and mitarashi dangos. You up for the challenge, chef-in-training?" He wagged the wooden spoon at me.

I grinned at him and grabbed my apron from its usual place. "Piece of cake."

Okay, I'll admit it. I love cooking. No, wait. I enjoy cooking but I love baking. I'm guessing it runs in the family since I remember a time when mom made this huge vanilla cream cake for Youchi's first birthday. Drunkard Dad was out, as usual and fortunately. Youchi, too, is taking a few lessons from me and Grandpa. He's more interested in baking too, like me. Hah. Me, Youichi and mom were planning on making Grandpa a chocolate chip marble cake, his favourite, for his birthday, two months from now.

Minutes passed and soon, I was preparing the table for dinner. Father would be home any minute so I need to do this now, so that everything would be ready when mom comes home. I placed the last glass on the table and looked at the wall clock again. Any minute now.

Instead of the usual hard thump sound, Youchi was running towards me, his eyes filled with fear and panic. My heart skipped a beat as I hugged the scared boy and waited for the worst.

"OLD MAN!" A loud booming voice reverberated through the whole house. I stood up on shaky legs as Youchi clutched onto my arm as if his life depended on it. And I'm pretty sure it was. I patted him on the head, assuring him that I would never let that madman touch him. I walked hesitantly toward the living room where my father was, still shouting for our grandfather. We hid behind a corner and poked our heads out, just enough for us to see and hear things clearly.

"What do you want, Jinno?" Grandpa asked sternly. He glanced at our direction and something in his eyes made me feel safe. Grandpa will take care of this but just in case, I pulled out my phone and dialled for mom. I handed the phone to Youchi as I watched the two men argue.

"You stole my hidden stash, didn't you? You smelly old pig." He spat. I could smell the alcohol from where we were and it instantly made me feel nauseous.

Grandpa stepped closer. Daring him. Challenging him. "Stupid fool. You wasted your money on your own. I stole nothing." His voice was steady and serious. I wished I have the same strength in me too. Right now, I'm just hiding here in the shadows, not daring to do anything. I'm a coward. I heard Youchi whimper beside me. He already finished talking to our mother and she was probably rushing here as fast as she could. I wound a protecting arm around his shoulders as we watched. For now, I'm gonna protect Youichi from that man. Just like how Grandpa is protecting both of us now. I'll do what I can for now.

"What did you call me, you free-loading goat?!" With that, I watched him lunge after my grandfather.

Time seemed to slow down as I watched my grandfather fall backwards. It would have been okay if he landed on the carpet but behind him was a low glass drawer. Just as I feared, the corner of the drawer hit the back of his head, hard. I watched, paralyzed with fear, as thick blood trickled down Grandpa's neck. A scream brought me back from my paralyzed state and I started to run behind Youichi towards our grandfather. We kneelt down beside him, tears pouring out of our fear-stricken eyes. I was afraid to move him as I stared at the deep penetration of the glass behind his head. I cursed myself for not doing anything. Maybe if I distracted that madman, this wouldn't have happened. I cried and kept blaming myself for not being able to do anything. I could have done something. Anything but watch.

As if reading my mind, Grandpa whispered to us in a soothing voice. "Hey now, it's okay. Stop crying, little ones. I'd rather it be me than you two. It's okay."

"B-but Grandpa. Wha-at will h-happen-en to y-you?" Youchi cried desperately.

"It's alright. Don't worry about me but worry about yourselves. Listen to me very closely, you two. This is important." He grunted in pain. We scooted closer and tried to hold back our sobs. "In the backyard, under the swing, I buried all my savings under there. Take it, it's yours and use it wisely. Use it to get out of that man's radar. Don't dig it up until you really need to use it. That man will steal it from you."

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That was Grandpa's last words. After that mom arrived, seconds before an ambulance came. Apparently, some neighbours heard the commotion and as soon as they checked it out, they called for help. Yes, that madman wasn't thrown into jail. I don't know why but I don't like it. That is why today, Grandpa's birthday, two years and two months after his death, we will have our freedom we deserved. The freedom our grandfather yearned for us to have. The madman will die on his own; I wish he'd die now.

My 7 year-old brother is asleep, leaning on my shoulders. Mom is exhausted and tired on my other side. I whisper to her, 'Sleep mom. You deserve it. Thank you so much. We're free now, just as Grandpa wanted it.' She smiles at me and nods. She kisses my cheek before drifting into her own slumber. I, too, am tired. I guess it won't hurt to sleep now. No madman would come barging in on us. We're on our way to freedom on a plane. We're on our way to Singapore at my aunt and cousin's house.

I remember my aunt. She's nice. She used to tour me around her huge flower garden when I was young. They used to live in Japan, too, but moved to Singapore when Aunt remarried. I remember my cousin too. Her name was Hotaru. Hotaru Imai. She was the best friend I could ever have. She was cheery and bright, kinda like me. We would always pinky swear to meet up each other every week. I wonder if she's still like that. My mother says that since moving into a new country, a new home and a new family, she says Hotaru has changed a lot. Aunt says so. I want to see her. I guess it doesn't matter if she changed or not. We pinky sweared. It's better late than never.

Wait. I think I remember the names mom told me earlier. Um, Hyuuga? Yeah, that's it. Hyuuga. From what mom told me, Mr. Hyuuga is nice, kind and generous. Well, he is letting us live there, after all. I have to thank him for that. There's something else. Oh yeah, Mr. Hyuuga has a son. What was his name again? Narumi? Natsume? I can't remember. Oh well, I bet he'll be nice.

For now, I'll sleep. I haven't had a peaceful sleep in a long time.

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**AN:** A story I thought up during my 2-week holiday in Australia. It seems my parents want to migrate there, so yeah. I hope you like this first chapter. It's not much. Basically, it's just a prologue to the real plot and story. Look forward to my next chapter. I'll update as soon as possible. More reviews make me update faster so keep on pressing that cool, little, green button down there. :D


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